By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE harrowing abduction and sexual assault of two young women yesterday morning has led police to detain three men for questioning, officials confirmed yesterday. 

The women are believed to be around 18 and were headed to a bar in downtown Nassau when the incident happened, The Tribune understands. 

According to a source, the women allege they were approached by two armed men with dreadlocks. They were forced into a car and driven around. They were allegedly ordered to cover their heads in their laps so they couldn’t see where they were being taken. One of the women was ordered to throw her phone away, it is claimed.

During the three-hour ordeal, one of the women was raped and the other was forced to perform a sexual act on the men, this newspaper’s sources alleged.  

The men allegedly attempted to get a ransom by ordering one of the women to call a family member and demand that $1,000 be brought to a specified location. The call was made to one of the women’s parents. Suspecting something was wrong, the parent alerted police.

Police then launched an operation. A parent showed up to a gas station and spotted the car with the young women. As the parent approached the car with police in tow, the men drove off with the women screaming “don’t kill me,” a source claimed to this newspaper. 

Chief Superintendent of Police Solomon Cash said yesterday evening: “We got a report around 1am (on Thursday) at the police control centre where a family member was saying that their daughter was kidnapped and there was a demand for a considerable amount of cash for the return of their daughter. Police commenced an investigation. We received some communication between that family member and the alleged suspect. Our investigations led to Tonique Williams Darling Highway where we found the alleged vehicle. The occupants of the vehicle were able to elude police. Moments later the vehicle was recovered with the two young women inside. However, they alleged they were robbed and sexually assaulted.”

The young women were found on Carmichael Road, The Tribune understands, and were taken to hospital.